Hypergolic actuated shaped charge



Unite States atGflt r HYPERGOLIC ACTUATED SHAPED CHARGE Donald P. Smith, Maryland Park, Md.

Application June 24, 1953, Serial No. 363,951

6 Claims. (Cl. 102-56) (Granted under Title 35, U. 5. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to shaped charges and more particularly to a novel structure whereby the explosive pressure may be controlled and greater target penetration and efliciency thereof obtained. In the apparatus of my invention the explosion is arranged to occur when the device is at a certain distance from the target. The effect of the explosive is to create a hole in the target by virtue of a lined cavity in the end of the explosive facing the target. The lined cavity produces what is known as the Munroe effect and theories to explain this effect suggest that an explosive jet of very high velocity is formed opposite the cavity and this jet has a strong penetrating or cutting effect.

Recent research in ordnance propellants has revealed that certain fluids will react spontaneously when mixed together with the accompanying violent release of heat and gases. This property of igniting spontaneously upon contact is described as hypergolic in the art and one of the reactants is known as a hypergol. An example of a hypergolic combination is hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent and hydrazine as a fuel the combustion products of which possess a low molecular weight.

My invention has for its prime object the utilization of hypergolic reactants as a propellant for a shaped charge.

It is a further object to control the jet of a shaped charge and to make it more efiicient.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal section view of an embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 is a view taken on lines 2-2 of Figure 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section view of an ordnance projectile utilizing my invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein similar parts are designated by similar reference characters and particularly to Figure 1, reference character 1 indicates a strong walled body portion of generally cylindrical shape having nested therein cone 2 of relatively thin metal such as copper fixed by clamping ring 3 and with its open end facing outwardly substantially as shown. A combustion chamber is thus formed between the exterior of the cone and the interior of the casing. A flanged plate 4 is depended upon to close the other end of the body portion and to receive pipe nipples 5 having spring loaded valves 6 and adapted to be connected to storage tanks holding the fuel and the oxidizing agent. A plurality of cylindrical chambers 7 are formed in the up per portion of the body to receive the reactants prior to firing and to guide slidable piston members 8. The pistons are generally cup shaped and have lateral slots 9 cut in the bottom faces thereof, the extended center lines of such slots meeting at or about the apex of the cone leakage during sliding motion thereof.

. 2,866,414 Patented Dec. 30, 1.958

2. O-rings 10 are provided to seal the piston sides against Frangible discs 11 are sealed against the bottom of the several pistons for firing control.

The operation of my explosive is as follows. Theexplosive device is placed on a target to be penetrated in the usual well known manner and spaced therefrom the proper stand off distance to permit maximum utilization of the cutting jet. The reactants are pumped under pressure from storage tanks and the cylindrical cavities are filled. When it is desired to fire, an excess pressure is applied to the confined liquids and the frangible discs are ruptured at least in the portion covering the slots in the piston faces. A portion of the contents are forced out and mix together in the cone chamber to react and produce a sudden pressure rise. This pressure acting against the bottom faces of the pistons drives them upward since the area of the piston face exposed to the pressure is greater than the piston exposed to the confined fluid and an injection force is produced that will always serve to move the contents of the cylinders into the cone chamber no matter how high the cone chamber pressure rises. The degree of pressure and rate of the rise thereof to obtain optimum cone collapse and expulsion is determined by preselection of the size of the containing cylinders and the available energy of the hypergolic reactants.

An application of my invention to a projectile such as a rocket is illustrated in Figure 3. A windshield 10 is afiixed to a threaded annulus 11 which serves to clamp the cone 12 to body member 13. A plurality of cylinders 14 are arranged in the body member and serve to contain the hypergolic fluids which are loaded into the cylinder assembly and scaled up during assembly of the organization. Slidable pistons 15 having slots 17 facing the cone chamber 18 are contained within the cylinders and each has a frangible disc 16 sealing such slots. A many pronged firing pin 19, one prong for each disc, is normally held in spaced relation by bore riding pin 25 seating within a cavity formed in the firing pin yoke 20. A ball 21 of a metal of high specific gravity is normally held against plug 22 by the urging of spring 23 to provide the all ways fuse operation.

The operation of this species is similar to the species of Figure 1. Upon firing the rocket the bore riding pin is ejected from the casing and the firing pin is free to move longitudinally. Upon impact with a target the ball 21 forces the firing pins into the frangible discs shattering the same and forcing the contents of the cylinders into the cone chamber where a violent reaction takes place and the cone is ejected as a secondary projectile to penetrate the target. The pistons perform their function of providing the injection pressure against the cone chamber pressure in the event that the inertia is insufiicient to remove all of the hypergolic reactants into the cone chamber upon target contact.

In a general manner while I have in the above description disclosed what I deem to be practical embodiments of my invention, it should be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto but my invention contemplates the use of hypergolic explosives in any type of projectile whatsoever including fragmentation and chemical shells. It may be that changes might be made in the arrangement and form of the parts without departing from the spirit of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. An explosive comprising a casing, a hollow cone within said. casing and having its base toward one end thereof, a plurality of cavities formed in said casing adjacent the apex of said cone, means to admit hypergolic fluids into respective cavities, and means to expel the said hypergolic fluids from the said cavities to mix the same for efiecting collapse and explusion of said cone.

2. The explosive made according to claim 1 a piston slidable in each of the respective cavities, an orifice formed in each piston facing the said cone and frangible means normally closing each said orifice.

3. An explosive device comprising, a casing, a cone fixed within said casing and having its base adjacent one end thereof, a plurality of containers fixed within said casing, hypergolic fluids confined within said containers, a combustion chamber surrounding said cone, impact responsive means to open said containers and means to expel said fluids from the said containers into said chamher.

4. A shaped charge projectile comprising a casing, a

7 cone fixed within said casing and having its base adjacent one end thereof, a plurality of containers formed within said casing, hypergolic fluids confined within said containers, a combustion chamber in said casing surrounding said cone, impact responsive means operatively associated with said containers to initiate intermixing of said fluids in said combustion chamber, and pressure responsive means :operatively associated with said containers to sustain intermixing of said fluids after initial intermixing thereof.

5. A shaped charge projectle comprising a casing, a hollow cone fixed within said casing and having its base adjacent one end thereof, a plurality of containers fixed within said casing, hypergolic fluids confined within .said

containers, at eombustion'chamber within said container surrounding said cone, an all-ways firing mechanism to open said containers uponimpact and initiate intermixing of said fluids, and piston means Within said containers responsive to gas pressure Within said chamber to sustain intermixing of said fluids against the gas pressure in said chamber.

6. A shaped charge projectile according to claim 5 wherein said all-ways firing mechanism comprises a plurality of firing pins operatively associated with frangible closures in said chambers, afiring pin yoke engaging one end of said pins, a spring engaging said yoke and a ball arranged to compress said spring upon grazing impact of said projectile to drive said yoke against said pins and open said frangible closures. v

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

